Combined container and display stand



March 1, 1960 JEPSON 2,926,779

COMBINED CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND Filed March 31, 1958 INVENTOR. Jw/z flw BY I 9 Kev a4 comm!) CONTAINER AND DISPLAY STAND Ivar Jepson, .Oak Park, 111., assignor to Sunbeam Corporation, Chicago, III., a corporation of Illinois Application March 31, 1958, Serial No. 725,135

j 4 Claims. (Cl. zoo- 45.19

. is placed over the stand, a shipping container or box is provided. When the container or box is placed on its side, the dummy plug supports the socket end of the shaver, and a spacer is provided in the top of the container to support the head end of the shaver. However, in many types of shavers the wall of the socket is of plastic material which servesexcellently for the customary purpose of guiding and receiving. a power cord plug but which may be broken when the shaver is supported only by the dummy plug. If the container is jolted or jarred as sometimes occurs in shipping, the usual stresses placed on the wall of the socket may tend to crack the plastic. It would be desirable to provide a container base which serves both to attractively display a shaver and also support the shaver during shipping in such a manner as to eliminate breakage of the shaver when sub ected to jars and jolts.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a new and improved container and display stand for an electric shaver serving to positively hold the shaver.

Another object of the invention is to provide a com bined container bottom and display stand having a recess for receiving a portion of an electric shaver and also having a dummy plug in the recess designed to enter the socket in the shaver so that the shaver is supported on both inside and outside of the socket in the shaver.

'1 A further object of the invention is to provide a combined container bottom and display stand having a recess in the top wall thereof for closely receiving a portion of an electric shaver adjacent a socket in the shaver and also provided with a dummy plug having ribs to closely engage the walls of the shaver socket and, with the recess, to hold the shaver against tilting relative to the stand and to support that end of the shaver by both the socket and the adjacent walls of the shaver. A cover, having a spacer for receiving the head of the shaver, is received on the base to hold the shaver seated in the recess in the base and on the plug when the shaver is transported from one place to another.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a combined container and display stand forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a combined container and display stand forming one embodiment of the invention and an electric shaver supported thereby;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the combined container and display stand taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal Fig. 2;

section taken along line 3-3 of Unit d t te Patent r Pistented Mar. 1, 2 r

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the combined con tainer and display stand together with a shaver cord supported therein. g

The invention provides a base serving the dual purpose of a bottom of a shaver container and as a display stand for the shaver. The base is provided with a'tapered recess complementary to the lower end of the shaver and also has a dummy plug projectingfrom the bottom of the recess fitting into the socket in the lower end of the shaver to act with the walls of the recess to positively hold the shaver. The walls of the recess and the plug serve to support theshaver both on the inside of the socket and on the outside of the socket. The base also serves as a container for the shaver cord which may be wedged into the bottom thereof and held in place by friction. A cover having a spacer sheet receivesthe head end of the shaver and keeps it seated on the base.

There is shown in the drawings a combined box or container and display stand for an electric shaver 10 in which a base 11 serves botlras the bottom of thecontainer and as a display stand. The shaver 10 has a casing 10a of a suitable plastic material. The base 11 is a hollow box like member having an open bottom. It is preferably made of a molded plastic material such as, for example, a vinyl compound. The base 11 is designed to serve as the bottom of a container in which the shaver may be stored or shipped. The remainder of the container which cooperates with-the base to enclose the shaver is a stiff cardboard box-like cover or top 12 designed to fit over the base. To provide a shoulder or stop against which the walls of the top 12 may abut, the base 11 has a'narrow flange or shoulder 13 formed integrally therewith. The basell slides snugly into the cover 12, and the shoulder 13 acts as a stop to limit the insertion of the base into the cover. The base and cover fit closely together to hold the cover on the base by the frictional engagement of the walls.

The top 12 also supports a spacer 14 having an opening 15 therein into which the upper portion of the shaver 10 projects. The spacer 14 which may be made of stiff cardboard or other suitable material serves to aid the base 11 in supporting the shaver 10 during transportation and the like. The spacer 14 restrains the upper portion of the shaver against lateral movement and holds the shaver against the base 11. The spacer is composed of a sheet of cardboard having folded sides 14a and a top portion 14b. 1 The top portion 14b is preferably glued in the upper end of the cover 12.

The base 11 is provided with a top wall 15 in which there is molded a recess or socket 16. The casing 10a is a split or two part type with the parts held together by screws or the like (not shown). The recess 16 is complementary in shape to the exterior lower end portion of the casing 10a and snugly receives the end portion of the shaver 10 therein. When mounted in the recess, the shaver assumes a position in which it projects directly away from the base. To assist the recess 16 in supporting the shaver 10, there is also provided a dummy plug 17 projecting upwardly from the central portion of the bottom of the recess 16 to a point substantially flush with the top surface of top wall 15. The plug 17 fits into a socket 18 formed in the casing of the shaver 10 for the reception of a power cord plug during use of the shaver. The dummy plug 17 is provided with ribs 19 serving as spacers so that the plug 17 fits closely within the socket 18 in the shaver casing. By having ribs 19 extending outwardly to engage one wall of the socket 18 in the shaver casing rather than having the dummy plug- 17 enlarged to fit the socket 18 snugly, the friction between the dummy plug 17 and socket 18 is reduced to a permitting easy assembly and disassembly of the shaver 10 and the base 11. The plug'17 also is provided with a centrally located hole 20 to "permit the reception t terrninal pins-21 ofthe shaver therein, it will be notedthat, when the container is placed during shipping, thefsocketendof the shaver casing is supported both by 'the plug and by the lowermost wall of the recess 16 so that both the top and bottom walls of the vsocket end of the shaver are supported.

When the shaver is placed in the recess 16 and over dummy plug 17, it may be displayed'on the base as illustr'at'ed Fig. 1, and the base 11 provides a very stable support for the shaver. A stable support also is provided 7 by the recess 16, the dummy plug 17*and the spacer 14 during shipping or carrying of the shaver 10 when the top 12 is placed on the base 11. The spacer 14 prevents the shaver 10 from moving out of the recess 16 and off the'plug 17 and also supports the upper or head portion of the shaver 10 against transverse movement relative to the container. The recess 16 and 'the plug 17 support the socket end of the shaver both inside and outside the socket, whereby breakage of the shaver casing from shock is prevented. 3

i The hollow interior of the basell serves as a carrying receptaclefor an electric power cord 24 for the shaver 10. Toretain the cord 24 in a coiled or folded condition, a thick plastic band 25 is employed. The plastic band 25 fits snugly into the interior of the base 11 frictionally engaging the walls of base ll. The cord 24 also frictionally engages the sides and end of the base 11. The action of both the band 25 and the cord 24 on the: sides and end of the base 11 retains the cord securely in the base '11. t The band 25 is preferably non-rigid b ut is sufiiciently stifi that it firmly engages the sides of the base 11. l p

The base 11 with its recess 16 and dummy plug 17 serves to positively interlock with the shaver 10 and to suppo'rt the shaver firmly during display as well as during transportation of the shaver in the two part container. The recess 16 and the plug17 act together to positively hold the shaver. The ribs 19 permit close fitting of the dummy plug 17 with a minimum of friction between the dummy plug 17 andthe socket 18.

While there has been illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention, various changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a combined holder. and display stand comprising on its side or edge as occurs.

. 1 "mt-m.v

an electric shaver having a plastic casing with a socket therein, a base having a recess opening on one surface thereof for closely receiving? therein the portion of the shaiver casing adjacent said socket, said base also having a projection from the bottom portion of said recess for fitting into the socket in the casing when said portion of the casing adjacent said socket is inserted into said recess, whereby the walls of said recess and said projection prevent said shaver from tilting relative to said base.

, on one surface thereof for closely receiving 2. "In a combined holder and display stand'comprising an electric shaver having a plastic casing with a socket in an end thereof, a plastic base having a recess opening therein the end portion of the-shaver-casing'adjacent said socket, said base also having a projection from the bottom portion 02 said recess for fitting into the socket in the shaver when said end portion of the shaver casing adjacent said a socket is inserted into said recess, whereby the walls of said recess and said projection prevent said shaver from tilting relative to said base, and .said projection being providedwith acavity for receiving the terminal pins of said shaver.

3. In a combined box base and display stand comprising an electric shaver having a plastic casing with a socket formed therein, a hollow base having a top wall, said top wall being provided with a recess having side walls complementary in shape to the lower po'rtion of said casing, said top wall also being provided with a dummy plug projecting upwardly from the bottom of said recess for entering said socket in theshaver, said plug being provided with ribs for engaging a wall of said socket.

4. In a box for an electric shaver, a base having means on the top thereof for engaging the bottom of an electric shaver to hold the shaver upright thereon, a cover for enclosing the shaver and fitting over said base to form a box therewith, anda spacer :sheet having an opening therein for receiving the head of the shaver, said shaver head being positioned between said sheet and the top of said cover, said spacer sheet serving to engage said shaver below said head and hold said shaver on said base, 'said means on the top'of said base including a recess for receiving the bottom of the shaver in closefitting engagement therewith and also including a dummy plug fitting into the bottom of the shaver.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

